Deception of the Heart
by bleedsilverandgreen
Summary: "I hate you, James Potter." James Potter was too young to understand what love was, but still he found himself angry and hurt and a little bit jealous. He couldn't understand exactly what he was feeling, except that he wanted to hate that stupid, ginger Lily with all his heart, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Obviously, I am not as incredibly talented as the fantastic J.K. Rowling, as I am only a student who pretends she can write. All thing Harry Potter belong to Jo Ro

**A.N.: **This is the first fanfic I have ever, ever, _ever_ published, so be wary of failure :) James/Lily This is the Prologue, and I am just setting things up. The entire story won't take place with the cast as first years, have no fear!

It started off in hatred. From the very first train ride to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lily Evans knew beyond a doubt that she hated James Potter. They were eleven years old and had barely met, and she knew she never wanted to be his friend, _never._ She supposed it was because of Severus. Severus Snape was the only wizard Lily knew, and she knew him simply because he had chosen her. Lily realized he was special and promised herself to never stop being his friend because nobody had ever chosen her first when Petunia was around. And Petunia, it seemed, was always around.

But on September the first of 1971, when Lily stepped through the barrier and entered Platform Nine and three-quarters excited and scared at the same time, searching for Sev in the crowd surrounding the scarlet steam-engine that would take her to Hogwarts, she held her head high in the knowledge that for the first time in her young life, she wouldn't be compared to her beautiful sister. Even at the age of eleven, Lily felt she would never be as beautiful and graceful as her sister. She envied her; but Petunia envied Lily right back. Petunia was jealous of Lily's magic and, though she wouldn't openly admit it to her, she wanted to be special like her sister. Petunia had even written to the Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, and asked him to allow her to attend Hogwarts as well.

With Severus' help, Lily had found that letter. Professor Dumbledore's reply had been very kind, but when she said as much to her sister, Petunia turned on her heel and flounced off to their parents side with a vicious call of "freak" over her shoulder. Embarrassed and upset, Lily boarded the train with a swift farewell to her parents and tears in her eyes. She crashed immediately into a boy with mussed black hair and hazel eyes that danced with excitement. He stood to the right of another boy who was slightly more slender than the first, with longer, darker hair and dark eyes that were shy and pleased at the same time. They were dressed in Muggle clothes, like Lily, and thus were new first years. The boy on the right smiled at her.

"Problems with your sister there?" he asked, smirking. Lily glared at him, fighting back tears she refused to spill in front of him.

"It's none of your business. Leave me alone," she snapped at him, walking away to continue her search for Sev down the crowded hallway. To her dismay, the boys stepped up on either side of her.

"Well now that wasn't very nice, was it, Sirius?" said the first boy, addressing his friend on Lily's left.

"Not at all, James. We only wanted to make friends." He smiled at Lily, though she tried vainly to ignore him. "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black. This little toe rag is James Potter. And you are?"

"_I'm_ trying to find someone. I don't want to be your friend." Lily walked faster, trying to hide her annoyance by throwing them off, but James and Sirius just kept pace with her.

"Ouch," said James, pretending to be hurt. "And here I thought you would be nice, Ginger." Lily stopped and turned sharply to face him.

"Don't you dare call me that, Potter." She groaned internally as she caught the smirk he sent over her head to Sirius. _Great, Lily, now you've done it. He's going to call you that forever now._ "Look, I'm sorry; I'm just trying to find my friend. He's around here somewhere"

"You actually have a friend, Ginger?" Potter smirked down at her. "Why are you so mean to us then? They must be pretty special to want to be friends with you."

"Yeah," said Sirius, coming over to stand next to James so he could face Lily. "Who is this guy? I want to give him a medal." Lily glared at the two of them and opened her mouth to reply when—

"I hope they aren't bothering you, Lily." Lily gasped in relief.

"Sev! I thought I'd never find you. This is James Potter and Sirius Black, and they are incredibly annoying" She turned back to face James and Sirius, only to see distaste written across their faces. "Um..." she managed, and glanced at Sev only to see pure hatred in his eyes.

"No need to introduce us, Ging. Or, should I say, Lily," sneered Sirius. His tone was cold and revolted. "Now that we know the kind of scum you hang out with I guess we don't need to be friends." James shot him a look.

"No need to be so harsh, mate," he muttered under his breath, but Sirius didn't seem to hear him.

"No, it's fine," said Lily. "If you don't like Sev then I don't like you." She turned back to face Severus. "Did you already have a compartment? I don't fancy joining them." Severus turned his large, black eyes on her wonderingly.

"Yeah," he said. "There's nobody else there, though."

"That's just fine." Lily turned back to Sirius and James, a guarded look in her eye. "See you around, Potter, Black." Then, grabbing Sev's arm, she turned and headed the way she had come.

"Hey, Ginger! _Ginger!_" James called down the hallway. Lily ignored him, continuing to drag Sev with her. "Lily!" she stopped in shock at the use of her full name, and turned warily to face him.

"What?" James paused, surprised by her acknowledgement. He glanced at Severus, and his eyes had hardened with hatred when he met Lily's gaze again.

"Don't get too caught up with him, Ging, or you'll end up in Slytherin. Which is a shame, because you look like you're a decent person. I'd choose your friends more carefully if I were you." Lily stared at him in shock, her eyes narrowing slowly. Tossing back her dark red hair and pulling herself up to her full height, Lily glared at James.

"I'll be in Slytherin as long as I don't have to be with _you_. You make me sick." She glanced at Sirius, too, who reeled back from the vehemence of her stare. "Both of you do." They four of them were quiet for a split second, and Lily's shoulders stiffened. "I hate you, James Potter." She turned on her heel and fled. James, Sirius, and Severus were still for a second, and then Snape took off after her, calling her name.

Lily had jumped into the nearest empty compartment and shut the door. She refused to let Snape in for a whole five minutes, instead shaking with anger at herself and at that _infuriating_ James Potter and his absolute _jerk_ of a friend, Sirius Black. This was not how she had expected her first day to go. When she finally let Snape in, they carefully avoided the topic of what had just happened and instead talked about what they thought the school would be like until the train arrived at Hogwarts.

What she hadn't seen, when she ran away from he first fight with Sirius and James, was the look that crossed James' face. It was shocked and hurt and sad all at once, like he had seen something he desperately wanted and held it in his hands for a fleeting moment before it was torn away from him. It was a look of realization that he would never have that fiery, shining girl who had just stood before him and rebuked him. James Potter was too young to understand what love was, but still he found himself angry and hurt and a little bit jealous. He couldn't understand exactly what he was feeling, except that he wanted to hate that stupid, ginger Lily with all his heart, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Sirius, though he didn't tell James, was rather impressed by Lily. He decided it was his new duty to annoy her if only to have her react like that again. He pulled James off to their compartment and listened to him complain on about her for the entire trip to Hogwarts. _Something big just happened,_ he thought, for he had known James his entire life and he'd never once seen him get so worked up about someone who wasn't his father. They pulled on their Hogwarts robes while James continued to gripe about that "annoying short ginger and that slimy git she hangs around with" and Sirius called Severus "Snivellus" to James' amusement.

Severus and Lily and James and Sirius climbed out of the train to the sounds of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" and followed the huge gamekeeper, Hagrid, to a fleet of small boats along with the rest of the new first years. Sirius managed to get him and James into the same boat as Severus and Lily much to James' delight and Lily's disgust. With a constant stream of annoying comments from the two boys directed at Lily and Snape (but mostly to Snape), the boats floated off to the school. Lily found she couldn't be bothered to pay attention when the imposing silhouette of the castle was looming over her, growing steadily larger until all the first years and Hagrid were swallowed up by the bowels of the school.

Nervous and shaking, the first years gathered in the magnificent Entrance Hall. Lily, who had never seen anything as large as the Hall, gazed around with her mouth open, shivering in anticipation. Then a severe-looking woman entered, introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, and instructed them all to follow her into another room. They were to be sorted into the four different Houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin— by the ancient and dusty Sorting Hat that rested on a creaky, three-legged stool.

Sirius was called first, and the Hat was placed on his head. After a moment of deliberation, a rip at the brim of the Hat opened wide and shouted out "Gryffindor!" to the room and Sirius joined Gryffindor House, leaping up from the stool with a smile on his face. Lily was sorted into Gryffindor House as well, and she ran off to join her new classmates with a quick, sad smile up at Severus. Sirius scooted up along the bench to make room for her. She sat, recognized him from the train and the boats, and turned her back on him, crossing her fingers in her lap that Snape would join her against all odds. James' name was called before Snape's, and the Hat had barely touched his head when it declared him to be yet another Gryffindor. Lily grimaced at her unfortunate luck, and hoped that she would have _someone_ to talk to who wasn't a total jerk in her grade.

And then it was Severus' turn. Lily crossed all her fingers, knocked on wood, held her breath, and hoped. Snape went on the stool, and the Hat went on Snape. A second passed that felt like an eternity, and the rip opened again and declared him a Slytherin. Lily deflated. James leaned up behind her, without quite knowing why, and hissed into her ear: "I told you so. But I'm glad we're in the same house."

She whirled to face him. "Don't you make fun of me, James Potter. You're a right pig and an absolute jerk." James' eyes were wide, and he almost looked hurt.

"I was being serious," he muttered, and turned around again to talk to Sirius in hushed tones. Lily tried not to mope, and stared at the golden plate in front of her while the Sorting continued and finally ended. A creak from the High Table and the following susurration of silence that swept the Hall caught her attention. Professor Dumbledore was standing with arms open and beaming smile on his wrinkled face. His long, silver beard reached the middle of his chest, and his bright blue eyes twinkled merrily.

"To all new students, welcome; to all returning students, welcome back," he began, in a voice that danced with the joy his eyes showed. "There is a time for speeches and there is a time for feasting. Thankfully, this is the time for the latter. Dig in!" And with that, foods of all kinds appeared on the golden platters and dishes before her. Lily, wide-eyed with wonder and tingling with excitement, stared down the table and decided this wasn't quite as bad a beginning to the school year as she had thought. She caught Sirius' eye and smiled at him before helping herself to some boiled potatoes.

_Whatever else you may be, Lily, you are a positive person,_ she thought. _You'll make this all work out._

And Lily Evans, young and nervous and happy and excited and a little bit sad all at once, began her very first year at Hogwarts in a feast with her best friend on the other side of the Hall and her new enemy seated next to her.

**A.N.: ** What do you think? I would love love love some feedback! You are wonderful if you read this, and even more wonderful if you review. Free Tom Hiddleston's to anyone who thinks this is good enough for a real continuation.

Love,

Em xx


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Still not Jo Ro :)

**A.N.:** Hooray, updating! Um... Not much to say, really. I've been neglecting my summer homework, so I may not be updating for a while sorry

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Golden sunlight slipped across the faded floral bedcovers in Lily Evans' bedroom. It melted down the walls and sluggishly crossed the floor, the packed trunk at the foot of the bed, and the rumpled figure lying across it. Lily, for it was she who laid so brokenly on the bed, played idly with her wand, her burning red hair splayed out around her in an auburn halo set to fire by the sinking sun. Her green eyes were catlike in the single ray of sunlight that fell over her face, setting the rest of her body in shadow.

Lily's bedroom was mostly neat. Her bed was underneath the only window in the room, but it was a large window that lit the space nicely. Thin curtains fluttered in the breeze from the open window. An overstuffed armchair stood in a corner of the room, covered in books and a black cloak with a scarlet lining. Next to that, there was a heavy, oak wood desk against the wall directly across from her bed with scattered pieces of parchment and the pieces of a broken ink bottle glinting feebly in the dying light. Ink was splattered against the wall from where the bottle had shattered on impact after Lily threw it in her anger before collapsing on the bed. She knew she would have to get up to clean the spilled ink before it stained her carpet, but she was simply too frustrated to care. It was late August of 1977, and Lily Evans was to start her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a day's time.

Part of the shadows detached itself from the farthest corner in the room. The shadow slunk across the floor, amber eyes gleaming. It hesitated under the armchair, wary of more flying objects. The shadow lifted its dusky head and sniffed at the air, trying to catch the scent of anger. It didn't seem to scent it, and padded slowly closer to the bed. It's smoky tail twitched. With a moment's hesitation, it leapt onto the bed and nudged Lily's arm with a nose like sandpaper.

"Mrow?" The cat placed a dusk-black paw on Lily, and jumped over her to nose her in the face. Lily sighed.

"Go away, Titus." The cat warbled in its throat. "You already ate." Titus head butted Lily's shoulder, meowing in annoyance. Lily rolled to the side. "I don't want to talk about it."

A crumpled piece of parchment fell out of her hand onto the floor. Lily blinked at it in dull recognition, then flopped over onto her other side and gathered Titus up into a furry hug. He meowed at her and buried himself in her arms while Lily tried to ignore the burning tears she refused to let spill. The sun was really setting now. It illuminated a couple of photographs in the room of the same group of happy people smiling and waving at the camera, and then it slipped from the bedroom and out of sight, leaving Lily and Titus in the darkness. Lily closed her eyes and tried to forget.

"_I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" He said it quickly, a flashing, biting whip of a word. Mudblood. Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood. It echoed in her ears. She blinked, shocked, and then narrowed her eyes at the culprit: her betrayer and her best friend. Severus Snape stood shaking in the light of an early June afternoon. To make it worse, Potter and Sirius were there, and they were surrounded by a ring of people desperate for new gossip. Lily, however, only had eyes for Snape._

"_Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_." But of course, James had to step in. Stupid, conceited Potter._

"_Apologize to Evans!" He roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. Lily's blood boiled._

"_I don't want _you_ to make him apologize! You're almost as bad as he is..." James' eyes widened._

"_What? I'd NEVER call you a—you-know-what!"_

"_Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK!" And then she turned away, walking as fast as she could without actually running away._

"_Evans! Hey, EVANS!" But Lily ignored James because she knew he was right. Arrogant and pigheaded he may be, but James would never have called Lily a Mudblood, and she knew it down in her very bones. The fact that it had been _Snape_ to say that only added insult to injury. Everybody said she was crazy for being his friend. Everybody said he was another Death Eater wanna-be. And she knew, god did she know it now. Mary always said he was no better than the rest of the Slytherins and Marlene always backed her up. And now Lily knew they were right, now that Sev had betrayed her._

_She nearly flew in her haste to get away, dashing up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, for some peace and some solitude. She shut herself away in her dormitory and when Alice and Marlene walked in two hours later, they were kind enough not to say a word about it. They just let Lily cry and vent in succession about James and Sirius and Severus and stupid Remus, he could have stopped them and about how she no longer had Sev as a friend. She wondered aloud if she deserved it and then decided that Snape wasn't worth it, but Lily was a mess. _

_It wasn't until Mary came and told Lily that Severus was outside the portrait hole, asking for her, that Lily pulled herself together. She pulled on her dressing gown and glanced out the window. It was dark; night had already fallen. With trepidation in every step, Lily left the dormitory and passed through the Common Room. Was everybody staring and whispering, or was it her imagination? She pretended to ignore the Marauders in their usual armchairs by the fire, and opened the portrait hole. Snape was there, waiting for her. Without preamble, he spoke:_

"_I'm sorry." Lily blinked at him, almost surprised at the words, pulling closed the Fat Lady's portrait behind her._

"_I'm not interested."_

"_I'm sorry!"_

"_Save your breath!" Lily glared at the boy she thought she had known, hands curled into fists. "I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here."_

"_I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just—"_

"_Slipped out?" Lily was furious. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends—you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be!" Lily's voice had risen to a shout. "You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?" The silence rang in her ears, accentuated by her heavy breathing. Snape opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. Lily took a deep breath, steadying herself._

"_I can't pretend anymore." Her voice was cold with resignation. "You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."_

"_No—listen, I didn't mean—"_

"—_to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?" He flinched at her words and struggled with speech, but Lily turned away and climbed back through the portrait hole, closing it in his face._

_The worst thing of that day, though, was James. When she climbed back through the portrait hole, anger and betrayal blazing in her eyes, he was there. And she knew he had heard everything she said, and it made it twenty times worse. And the words he said next broke her apart._

"_Evans..."_

"_Go AWAY, James, I don't want to talk to you!"_

"_Just hear me out!"_

"_NO!" She pushed past him, heading for the sanctuary of her dorm. He refused to be ignored, grabbing her arm gently enough for her to break away if she wanted to._

"_Evans, come on!" She shrugged him off, focusing on the stairs past the angry tears in her eyes._

"_I said leave me alone!" Her voice cracked. "Why can't you just _listen_ to me for once, Potter?"_

"_Lily, I'm sorry!" Lily stopped dead, one foot on the bottom of the stairs to her dorm. Her shoulders shook, but she fought the emotion, and she remained silent._

"_I'm sorry, okay? I know you probably don't believe me, but I said it, and I mean it! I'm a jerk; I've always been a jerk. I'm a complete asshole. I know that. And I realize I just destroyed your friendship out of—out of spite, or, or jealousy or something, I don't know! I don't know what I'm trying to say but god, Lily, I am so sorry, and... Please, believe me; I never wanted any of this to happen. It's all my fault and I guess... Well, I guess I get why you hate me." Lily was still silent and James took a deep breath and continued like he'd wanted to say these things for hours. "I know I provoked him or whatever, I know I've been downright horrible to him ever since he stepped foot on the train, and I'm sorry for that, too, because he was your friend. But he never should have said that to you, because it's just—well it's just not right! It's not right for friends to turn on each other and—and hate each other and hurt each other and I'm sorry that he said those things and I know you're not going to forgive him and I know you're upset and I'm sorry for that, too!"_

_Lily stepped down from the stairs and turned to face him. She met his eyes, and she knew that he was telling the truth. She could see his remorse written there as clear as daylight, and she hated that he felt sorry for her. He despised his pity, but she hated herself more._

"_It's not your fault, James." Her voice was flat, emotionless. He stared at her in shock at the use of his first name. "I knew this was going to happen someday. I just didn't want to believe it." She walked away, back to her dorm, but paused half-way up the stairs. "Thank you," she whispered, and ran back up the stairs to her room and her friends. She wasn't fast enough, though. Just before the door shut behind her she heard James' reply like a whisper on the wind._

"_Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you..."_

Lily's eyes blinked open. She buried her face in Titus' fur for a few seconds longer, and then sat up. Her eyes felt puffy and raw and she was a little bit dizzy from lack of sleep, but she pushed that away and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The crumpled parchment on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up and smoothed out the creases, tracing her fingers over the raw edge of the parchment. A strangely familiar handwriting leapt off the page at her. She rubbed her eyes and read the letter again, the words she had read over and over again as familiar as her own heartbeat by now.

_August 24, 1977_

_Dear Evans,_

_I know I'm a prick, and I know I need to stop apologizing. Maybe you should answer my letters? You probably won't. I'm not even really sure why I'm writing this, if I'm being completely honest. I guess I thought we might be able to be friends or something._

_Anyway, we came back from the cottage today. Well, it's not really a cottage, but it's a house in the countryside so Mum likes to call it the cottage. It's actually quite pretty out there. You might even have liked it. Sirius and Remus came out to visit. Peter couldn't because of his mum. She doesn't trust us, for some reason. She seems to think we'll get in trouble. I have no idea where she got that assumption... It might have something to do with all the owls home from McGonagall... Hmm, no, probably not._

_But since Sirius was there, we decided to have a little bit of fun. Mum wasn't too pleased with us at the end of the day, though. Padfoot swears he has no idea how the rose garden caught on fire, and Moony double-swears he had nothing to do with it. Funnily enough, out of the two of them I only almost believe Moony. Almost._

_How's your summer going? It's getting near the end now, so I could probably wait a week and ask you in person, but I don't know if my chances of you responding will be any better face-to-face, either. I guess I'll see you around, then._

—_Prongs (James)_

Lily had read the letter too many times by now, and she had eventually sent a response back with the same handsome tawny owl that had delivered all of James' letters so far. His name, she had gathered from the very first letter she'd received, was Archimedes. Lily thought it was a rather pompous name for an owl, but Archimedes was a rather pompous bird. Everything about him seemed vaguely regal.

_August 27, 1977_

_Dear James,_

_I suppose I should thank you for all of the letters, even the mildly annoying ones. I didn't realize it was even possible to plead through the post, but I should have realized you would figure out a way to do it. One of these days I'll stopped being so surprised that you always manage to do whatever you put your mind to._

_My summer's been... Well it's been as good as it possibly could with Petunia. I think she hates me even more now that she's got herself a boyfriend—oops, fiancé. His name is Vernon Dursley. Atrocious name, isn't it? He's worse than she is, though I'm not quite sure how that happened. _

_I'm sure it hasn't been as exciting as yours. How on earth do you set fire to an entire garden? On second thought, I'm not sure I really want to know._

—_Lily_

It was the fifteenth letter she'd received so far, and the only one she'd answered. James wasn't the reason she's thrown her inkwell at the wall, though. The reason for her now-stained carpet was Severus. She'd half-expected him to write to her nearly every day, pleading with her to forgive him like he had done every other time they had fought. This time, though, he hadn't sent a single letter. Lily was so furious she'd thrown her inkwell at the wall and probably stained the wallpaper, but she was mostly mad at herself. It was so infuriating to have James Potter, someone she was hardly even friends with, write her more often than her best friend.

_He's not your best friend anymore, Lily,_ she reminded herself. _You would both be better off if he hated you like all his other friends do._ Lily sighed and tried to work some of the creases out of the parchment. After a few minutes of getting steadily more annoyed with it, she gave up and walked over to her desk. The right bottom drawer had a shoebox in it full of all the letters she'd received since starting Hogwarts. It was a little bit difficult to fit anything new in it at the moment. Lily sighed again and reminded herself to get a new shoe box for the fifteenth time.

Going back to her bed, she stared out the window. She had discovered over the years that if she lay down at an awkward angle with her legs out the open window and her head tilted _just so_ she had a beautiful view of the stars. Lily contorted herself to the same space, looking overhead for any constellations she knew. Titus shifted and yawed, then snuggled into her side. Lily smiled down at the cat, and stroked his fur.

"Hey, Titus," she whispered. "Look up. See those three stars, right there? That's Orion's belt. And if you connect all those stars together, that's Orion." She smiled with one arm outstretched as she traced the outline of the constellation. "Orion the hunter," she whispered. Titus wasn't interested, and Lily let her hand drop, keeping her eyes fixed on the stars.

Somewhere between her third and fourth years, James had decided his time would be best spent trying to ask Lily out on Hogsmeade trips. He came up with some really stupid things, too. During an Astronomy lesson in their fourth year, he kept passing her notes. They were silly little things, and Lily mostly ignored them, except for one. James wrote it on her star chart when Sirius distracted her for a moment. She turned back to finish Orion, and there it was, written in ink that was still wet enough to smear:

_I will do anything to go to Hogsmeade with you. I'll bring you a star, if you ask._

Lily blushed in embarrassment and glared at James, who was busy pretending to look at something through the telescope. With a sigh, Lily scratched the note out with her quill. She got two points off for "communicating on schoolwork" and ignored James for the rest of the week, even when he got stuck in a trick step while he was walking backwards trying to get her attention. She walked off without a word, but giggled about it hysterically with Marlene in their dorm that night.

Orion, however, was fitting. She thought it through later, when she was doing some research. _Muggles and the Stars_ briefly mentioned Orion: _"Orion is known, in Greek Muggle mythology, as the Hunter, for he once claimed to kill every beast on Earth. He was immortalized in the stars by Zeus, the highest of the Greek gods and goddesses, in order to forever continue the Hunt. In Homer's Iliad, the star Sirius is mentioned as his dog."_ Lily smiled to herself then, closing her textbook. It was fitting that James should pick Orion. She supposed he hadn't thought of it that way, but it seemed as though it was a sign that he would never give up the hunt. And the part about his ever-faithful companion, Sirius; well, that was just perfect. Lily shook her head, trying not to laugh. Sirius _was_ rather dog-like, when she thought about it.

What she didn't know, at the time, was that James had thought all of these things before he wrote the note. It was sign, though neither of them fully recognized it.

Lily frowned vaguely at the memory, and shook her head. She didn't want to think about James. She had other things to worry about. Regardless, her thoughts continued to wander back to him. Lily groaned, and rolled over to look at her clock. It was one in the morning. She pulled her legs back indoors from her window. The train would be leaving in ten hours, and she didn't want to be tired on her first day back. After a disgruntled sigh and some shifting around to find a comfortable position, Lily finally drifted off to sleep. Through her window, Orion winked delightedly from the heavens.

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**A.N.:** Yeah, new chapter, hooray! A big thank you to the two people who reviewed :) Guest and Erin, you guys rock. SO MUCH. Tell me what you think, pretty please. I _promise_ that this will pick up... after I get some homework done, yikes!

Love,

Em


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Still not Jo Ro

**A.N.: **I'm sorry! I can't start stories without fangirling about the sunlight, apparently. *Sigh* Well, hooray for updates, I suppose. It's only been forever and a day, yikes! On the bright side, I've done most of my homework, hooray! Ummm. Well. Not much to say about this. It exists, hooray! Thanks to all the lovelies who have reviewed and read and favorited—you all know who you are, and you have my fervent thanks. This story would not exist without you and your patience. Or J.K. Rowling, but you know, technicalities. I have Enya, the LOTR and Doctor Who season 3 soundtracks, Sleeping with Sirens, and A Day To Remember to thank for the motivation to write. Done with the novel of an intro now, okay, bye. Enjoy :)

Dawn broke gently, pale sunlight illuminating the world. It snuck through Lily Evans' bedroom window and amused itself for a while reflecting off her hair. It found the slit between the lids of Titus' eyes and cast reflective shadows on the walls. It crept into the corners of Lily's room and lit up her mementos for its own enjoyment. The sunlight oozed up her bedroom wall, startling itself in her mirror, and shining blithely on the photographs stuck to the mirror frame. These photographs were odd: the people in them were moving.

The first photograph was a group of girls. The first girl on the left was small and slight with dark brown hair and a hand half-raised to try and hide the laughter she couldn't seem to contain. Next to her was a girl with honey-blonde hair that just brushed her elbows. Her face was split into a wide grin and she had a mass of freckles spread across her nose and cheeks. One of her arms was around the dark-haired girl's shoulders. Her other arm was wrapped around Lily's waist. The Lily of the photograph couldn't stop laughing, her eyes squinting shut from her laughter and her arms slung across the shoulders of the girls on either side of her. She was the shortest in the picture. On her right was a tawny-haired and –eyed girl with a wicked grin that seemed just this side of inappropriate. She was seemingly the cause of the others' laughter. They were immortalized on film, silently laughing at whatever had just happened.

The caption of the photo was scrawled in slightly smudged ink:

_Alice, Marlene, Lily, and Mary (April 23, 1976) Still can't believe Mary said that to Mulciber! Or that he got detention for it!_

There were three other pictures of the same group of girls in different poses and lineups, all from the past year. The only other moving picture on the wall was possibly the most unexpected.

On the far left, a pale-skinned, tired-looking boy with exhausted brown eyes and a weary grin looked vaguely irritated and half-way happy—both at the same time—that he'd been dragged into the picture. On his right, James Potter stood, looking as wind-blown as ever. He was in his Quidditch robes with a broomstick across his left shoulder. Sirius was next to him, also in Quidditch robes with a broomstick in hand. The two boys were holding the Quidditch Cup above their heads, grinning proudly as it glinted in the light. On Sirius' right was a small, rounded boy. He had the star-struck look of someone who couldn't believe their luck or situation in his beady eyes. A strange winged golden ball, about the size of a walnut, fluttered about in the photo. Every now and then, James would lazily reach out to grasp it, only to toy with it, and release it again.

The caption of this photo was written in James' messy hand:

_The Marauders: Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter aka Moony, Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail. WE WON THE 1976 QUIDDITCH CUP! As we'd expected, because we're just that good._

The smell of bacon drifted up the stairs. Titus sniffed the air, pricking his ears. He nudged Lily's arm with his dark head as soft footfalls approached Lily's door. Soft A quiet knock on the doorframe woke Lily up.

"Lily darling, breakfast is ready." The door opened to reveal a slim older woman with hair the color of Lily's, if a few shades darker, pinned neatly behind her head. Warm, brown eyes glowed gently amid a nest of shallow creases from all the times she'd laughed over the years. Lily's groaned, running a hand through her hair.

"Morning, Mum," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. Lily's mother smiled, heading over to help her daughter out of bed.

"Honestly, dear, I don't know how you manage to get out of bed without me at that school of yours," she smiled at Lily, giving her a gentle push to propel her to the stairs. "What time did you even go to bed last night? And what on earth was that awful shattering noise?" Lily fumbled her way down the stairs, heading for the kitchen by instinct. She hadn't yet rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"There are these new-fangled things called alarm clocks, Mum." She yawned, taking a plate from the cupboard and shuffling to the stove. Bacon sizzled gently in the pan. Lily grabbed a fork from the drawer next the stove to fish two pieces out. Her mum placed a piece of toast on her plate as she blearily made her way to the counter top to eat.

"Here, darling, have some tea. You'll need to wake up before you leave." Lily took a sip, scalding her tongue from the hot liquid. She hissed through her teeth in pain, setting the cup down before she could drop it on her toast. "It's still hot, Lily dear."

"Thanks, Mum," Lily sighed, picking up her toast. "Pass the jam?"

One shower, a quick scramble to gather the things she'd left unpacked, a misplaced hairdryer, a couple cat scratches (Titus hated getting into his cat-carrier, but never minded actually _being_ in it), and one short car trip later, and Lily and Mrs. Evans arrived at King's Cross Station. Mrs. Evans checked her watch.

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry I can't stay. I have to be off to the airport to pick up Tuney and Vernon from their holiday," she tried and failed to hide a grimace by kissing Lily's cheek and giving her a quick hug. "Have a good term, darling." Lily smiled at her mum, squeezing her hand.

"I promise to write you soon," she said. With a wave over her shoulder, Lily wheeled her trolley through the magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10. A grey cloud of steam and a shrill whistle greeted her. The Hogwarts Express gleamed scarlet and huge before her, a familiar beast ready to take her back to Hogwarts. Lily took a deep breath and smiled, winding her way though the crowd. The younger students ran back and forth in front of her, loud voices and various animal noises echoing from every corner. Lily caught a glimpse of Severus and turned quickly in the opposite direction to avoid him.

_Crash!_ Lily's cart slammed into another cart. Trunks and boxes toppled; Lily only just caught Titus' cage before it could fall, placing it gently on top of her still-standing trunk.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! Let me help you!" she scrambled to pick up the other person's scattered belongings.

"Lily?" she looked up, surprised.

"Oh! Remus! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just..." Lily stood up and brushed herself off. "Sorry," she smiled at him and handed him a battered copy of _Hogwarts, A History_. He took it with a mumbled "thanks."

"So, how was your summer? I heard you and Sirius set fire to James' mum's rose garden." Remus opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by another familiar voice.

"How'd you hear about that?" Lily turned. Sirius was behind her, James talking to his parents not too far off. "Have you been writing dear old Prongs, then?" Lily laughed, shaking her head.

"Not really. He sent me fifteen letters and I figured I should respond before he Apparated to my house or something stupid like that." Lily stepped up and gave Sirius a quick hug. "Good to see you didn't get in too much trouble for it, though." Sirius let out a bark-like laugh.

"Well you know me, Mrs. Potter couldn't resist." Sirius winked, but Remus laughed.

"Liar!" he said, still chuckling. "You had to spend the entire day replanting the garden with James. No magic," he added, looking at Lily conspiratorially. Lily let out a shocked laugh. Sirius flushed, scratching the back of his head and rumpling his hair.

"Moony, mate, I still don't know how you got out of that one." Remus sighed, picking his cloak off the ground and dusting it off.

"It's because I'm incredibly talented. And because I told you not to do it," he thought for a second. "And because out of the four of us, Mrs. Potter trusts me more than her own son."

"Hey now, that's not true," a deep voice interrupted their conversation. "Mum trusts me more than she does Sirius!" James added, digging Sirius in the side with his elbow. He smiled at Lily, warmth coloring his hazel eyes. "Good to see you, Ging." Lily scowled, only half-annoyed.

"I thought you'd given that one up last year, Potter." James shrugged, one hand mussing his hair.

"Old habits die hard. Are we getting a compartment? Hurry or the good ones'll be taken!" His gaze landed on Lily. "Well, except for you and Moony here, little miss prefect. Er... d'you want to sit with us? I suppose I should ask... Or are you sitting with the girls then, after rounds?" Lily started to reply, but got cut off from somebody tackling her. If not for Sirius and his Quidditch reflexes, she would've fallen.

"Ohmygod, Lily! I've missed you! Why didn't you write back?" The assaulter released Lily and apologized to Sirius. Lily turned; Marlene's beaming, freckled face shone happily at her.

"Hey, Mar," Lily said, massaging her upper arm where she'd crashed into her trolley. "Tone down the hype a little, yeah? You nearly killed me!" Marlene laughed, but refused to be distracted.

"You didn't write me back, Lil. Why not? I missed talking to you!" Lily sighed, giving Marlene a real hug.

"It's good to see you too, sweetie. And I didn't get your letter until two days ago; I figured you could wait until we saw each other face-to-face. Guess I thought wrong." She glanced over her shoulder and waved the boys away to go find a compartment. "Oi, Prongs!" James turned, glancing back at her. "Save me a seat?" He grinned.

"Sure thing, Evans. See ya after rounds?" Lily nodded and turned back to Marlene. She was looking at Lily suspiciously.

"Are you two friends now, or something?" Lily shrugged.

"I don't really know. I don't think he's given up on the Hogsmeade thing either, before you ask." Lily sighed, shaking her head. A small frown line appeared between her eyebrows. "He's a strange boy, that James Potter." She shook herself, seeming to come back into herself. "D'you and Mary have a compartment already?" Marlene seemed to shrink a little.

"No," she sighed. "She's off sitting with Riley." Riley was Mary's boyfriend. He was a nice guy, but he tended to monopolize her time. Lily gave Marlene a sympathetic smile. "And Alice is off with Frank Longbottom again. I swear to god, she's going to marry that boy." Lily smiled at the thought. Frank and Alice were absolutely perfect for each other, even though you would never have guessed when they first met. They were both so _shy_. But something about Frank made Alice come alive, and she made him happier than he'd ever been. Lily loved the two of them endlessly.

"Well why don't you come sit with the Marauders and me? Remus and I will be patrolling for part of the trip anyway; I'm sure the boys won't mind." Marlene grinned.

"Are you _sure_ it isn't because you don't want to be alone with James?" she asked, smirking. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't be alone, Mar. Sirius and Remus and Peter will be there. C'mon, let's get our stuff on board." Lily turned her trolley around, picking up the last couple items she'd dropped in her collision with Remus. Titus meowed from his basket, sticking a paw out between bars to bat at Lily's hair. She shushed him half-heartedly, wheeling her trolley up onto the train. "Now where did those boys go?" Sirius' bark-like laugh reached her ears as she and Marlene set off along the train. They boys were easy to find when you wanted them; all you had to do was listen for the sound of imminent destruction.

Lily worked her trolley into the compartment, and with the helps of James and Sirius managed to store her belongings on the luggage racks. She let Titus out, knowing he wouldn't stray. He had a strange affinity for Sirius which nobody could understand. For his part, Sirius put up with Titus with only one occasional mutter of "weird hairball." Lily would never say so, but she though Sirius almost liked the attention.

With the usual squeal of pistons and chorus of parents waving and reminding their kids to write,_ soon_, the Hogwarts Express departed. Lily was flopped in between the window and James, her feet up on the seat across from her as she chatted with Peter about his holiday. All too soon, Remus was checking the time and pulling Lily off to the prefects' meeting. The pair headed off to the end car, already dragging their feet. Even Remus hated these meetings. Somehow, Lily managed to survive the half-hour droning meeting. She dozed off a little on Remus' shoulder, but the Heads had figured that the sixth years knew what they were doing, and shuttled them out quickly in order to brief the newcomers. Lily stretched and sighed.

"Can we just go back to the compartment, pretty please, Remus? It's not like anything will happen." Remus shot her a commiserating look.

"Lily..." the voice was familiar. Lily turned. Severus was in the corridor of the train. She sighed, eyes narrowing.

"What do you want?" her voice was flat. God, how she didn't want to deal with this now. Remus stood rigidly next to her. Snape shot a glare at him before sliding closer. His looked and sounded completely dejected.

"I'm sorry." Lily's eyes searched his. _I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her! _Her gaze hardened. "We've already discussed this, Severus. Goodbye." With that, she turned on her heel and gripped Remus' wrist, pulling him after her. She pretended not to hear Sev call after her, heading straight for their compartment.

"Um, Lily, d'you—"

"No." Lily gave Lupin a tired smile. "Sorry Remus." He gently pried her hand off his wrist.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to let go," Lily looked at him, before smiling again.

"Thanks, Remus. You're a great mate." He returned her smile.

"You're not too bad yourself," he replied, sliding the compartment door open. Sirius looked up.

"Jeez, Lily, you look pissed. What, did Remus fall asleep on you again?" Lily laughed, going back to her seat by the window.

"Actually, Padfoot, _she_ fell asleep on _me_." Sirius laughed, moving aside for Remus to sit down again.

"But seriously, what happened?" Lily and Remus exchanged glances, and Lily sighed, pushing her hair back from her forehead.

"We ran into Snivellus." James' head whipped around so fast he must've gotten whiplash. His eyes were wide as he looked at Lily.

"Wha—_Snape?_ What did he want?!" Lily pushed him away from her.

"Keep your knickers on, Potter. I told him he was wasting his time." James looked to Remus for confirmation. Remus nodded, not bothering to look up form the book he'd immersed himself in. James seemed flabbergasted.

"And, what, that was it? He _left_?" Lily sighed.

"No, _I_ left, idiot. Close your mouth before you catch a fly." James ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly, Potter, it's Sev. He knows me well enough not to test my temper. Unlike you." Even Peter laughed at that one. James colored and turned away.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, mate, she does it to everyone." Sirius clapped a hand on James' shoulder. "You should be used to the humiliation of Lily Evans' scorn by now, Prongs." They all laughed again, and the talk turned back to summer holidays, who was dating whom, and other castle gossip. Through the window, the countryside sped by, growing wilder with each passing hour. Lily woke a couple times after nodding off on the window and, once, James' shoulder. Her friends chatted away happily around her, and Lily found herself smiling. She was headed back to Hogwarts; she was headed back _home_.

With that happy thought, Lily dozed off again, accidentally nestling into James' shoulder. She was blissfully unaware of the conspiratorial looks on her friends' faces. All she knew was the comfort of her sleep and the warm body next to hers.


End file.
